Chickpeas are a popular pantry staple and a major crop for farmers worldwide. However, they are sensitive to changes in weather, including rainfall, temperature, and sunlight. Our study, conducted in Australia, aimed to identify the weather and soil conditions that most significantly affect chickpea yields and water usage.
Traversing a time marked by frequent revisionist intentions, the revaluation of findings, and the high speed of information suggested by modern algorithms, we recognise the real need to incorporate different approaches into the strong bioenvironmental system, shaped by the fundamental interaction between cattle–environment–humans, with branches leading towards strategic aspects of today, such as: the production of animal-based protein, the rational use of sensitive environmental systems, animal welfare, traditional socio-economic sectors, alongside the powerful tools of artificial intelligence, inferential statistics, and mathematical equations.
Across Ireland’s arable area, a large proportion of winter wheat and other combinable crops are still established using plough-based systems – a practice developed millennia ago. Ploughing involves inverting the soil to create a fine seedbed that supports crop germination and growth.
The paper “The effect of abomasal infusion of corn starch and β-hydroxybutyrate on hindgut microbial fermentation kinetics in early lactating dairy cows measured by the in vitro gas production technique“, published in The Journal of Agricultural Science, has been chosen as the latest Editorial Highlight and is freely available.…
Genetic advances have made it possible for commercial laying hen lines to remainlonger in production. However, after peak production, due to a series of physiological and hormonal changes with age, there will naturally be a decline in performance and egg quality.
Could an overlooked dairy by-product hold the key to more efficient poultry production? Our recent study, selected as Paper of the Month by The Journal of Agricultural Science, explored this very question using a model-based meta-analytic approach.
Elephant grass [Cenchrus purpureus (Schum.) Morrone] is an outstanding forage crop widely used in tropical regions due to its high biomass yield and climatic adaptability. However, considerable variability exists among cultivars, making it essential to understand how the management of genotypes with differing in stem elongation potential can impact forage accumulation and quality for ruminants
Corn (Zea mays L.) is one of the world’s most vital crops, supporting food security, livestock feed, and biofuel industries. Since 1960, the global corn harvested area has undergone significant transformations driven by technological advances, economic shifts, and environmental constraints. In our recent study, Global Corn Area from 1960 to 2030: Patterns, Trends, and Implications, we analyzed over 60 years of data and used 1,000 ARIMA models to project future trends, providing critical insights for policymakers, researchers, and the agricultural sector.
Grazing pasture provides a highly nutritious, low cost feed and energy supply for ruminant animals, while also converting a human inedible feed source into a human edible feed source in the form of meat and dairy products. However, to efficiently convert the pasture into animal products requires optimal management practices in pasture based production systems. Two of the fundamental requirements for pasture based systems, are rotational grazing and optimal roadway networks for animal movement on the farm.
As the global energy crisis intensifies and non-renewable resources, particularly fossil fuels, approach depletion, sustainable alternatives are gaining global prominence. Biogas plants offer numerous advantages, making them a sustainable and eco-friendly solution for energy generation and highlighting the importance of waste management.
Lodging, where plant shoots band due to environmental factors, is a major problem for crop producers. It results in poor grain filling, pod loss, and increased susceptibility to diseases, all of which impact yield and quality. While breeding for lodging resistance is a long-term approach, researchers are now looking for quicker solutions.
As the world copes with the impacts of climate change, sustainable agriculture and resilient crops are more important than ever. Enter Onobrychis viciifolia (commonly known as sainfoin), a versatile forage legume that could be a game-changer for ecosystems and agriculture in the face of rising temperatures and unpredictable weather patterns.
A recent study by Leticia G. Gasparotto and colleagues from the University of São Paulo explores how Brazil's agricultural advancements can help close this yield gap in SSA. The yield gap refers to the difference between the potential yield under ideal conditions and the actual yield achieved by farmers. In Brazil, the yield gap for maize is about 50% of its water-limited yield potential. In SSA, this gap is much larger, with actual yields representing only about 9% of the potential.
In the last few years, the interest for the development of feed additives has significantly increased, with the essential oils emerging as a promising alternative for the substitution of antibiotics in animal production. The interest in the search for alternatives to antibiotics in poultry production has been increasing, especially with the focus on essential oils due to their remarkable bioactive properties. This interest is based on the biological properties of the essential oils, such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities.
The contemporary broiler chicken exhibits an impressive growth rate and robust constitution under commercial production systems resulting in an economical and high quality protein source. Broiler chickens are selectively bred to produce an animal which displays predictable growth performance and hence a high level of flock uniformity.
The intensification of production systems has become essential, as the profit margin in beef cattle farming has been steadily decreasing, requiring producers to be more efficient in conducting their livestock projects.
Winter wheat is one of the most important crops in Germany and worldwide. As such, it is grown after various preceding crops (pre-crops) in a large number of possible crop rotations. It is well known that growing wheat after wheat causes yield losses compared to growing wheat after beneficial break-crops.
Two pioneering 10-day in vitro experiments were conducted to explore the correlation between nitrogen (N) isotope discrimination (δ15N) and NH3 emissions from sheep manure.
Australia has productive and profitable farming systems that contribute significantly to globally traded staple grains and global food security.
Global food production needs to increase in the coming years with minimal environmental impact for food and nutritional security.
The increasing use of the in vitro gas production technique has created a greater scope for testing animal feeds. The rationale for this paper was the additional requirement of researchers in the field of feed evaluation to compare substrate treatment significance.
Lactation, a minority period (15-19%) of the sow's productive cycle, is a period of maximum digestive and metabolic demand since in a few days (two weeks at most) the sow multiplies its production level by three.
Climate change is a big concern for wheat crop in Australia. We look at the relationship between weather parameters and grain number, yield and protein content.
This study analyzed how nitrogen rates and harvest management might optimize the quality and productivity of hayfields crabgrass varieties.
Why look at changes in crop and livestock practices in Vietnam? In mountainous Northwest Vietnam, the standard agricultural model since the decollectivization has been mixed crop–livestock family farms
An assessment of adaptation measures for wheat cultivation as a result of the effects of climate change in Punjab, India.
We studied the interaction between cotton cultivars and planting dates on yield to provide a model that eases the choice of the best cultivar for late planting.
Farm homegrown forage produced is the cheapest feed that can be offered to the animals on a pasture based grazing systems.
One of the most important decisions for beef farmers is whether to house or graze their cattle. This choice has implications for resource management, economics, the environment, and, notably, animal health and welfare - which we investigated in this study
The efficiency of sheep production systems depends on a high survival rate of the lambs. Sheep farming holds economic and sociocultural importance in semi-arid regions worldwide.
The poor documentation of knowledge on seed improvement through seed enhancement, genetic diversity, seed characterization via microsatellite markers, seeds quality and conservation indicated that seed quality is one of the main factors limiting underutilized crop production.
The paper “Effect of pre-grazing herbage mass and post-grazing sward height on herbage production and intake and performance of suckler-bred steers within a weanling-to-beef production system“, published in The Journal of Agricultural Science, has been chosen as the latest Editorial Highlight and is freely available to download for one month.…
The paper “Can a urease inhibitor improve the efficacy of nitrogen use under perennial ryegrass temperate grazing conditions? A multi-site study of N use in a temperate climate“, published in The Journal of Agricultural Science, has been chosen as the latest Editorial Highlight and is available Open Access.…
The paper “Organic system vs. conventional – a Bayesian analysis of Polish potato post-registration trials“, published in The Journal of Agricultural Science, has been chosen as the latest Editorial Highlight and is freely available to download for one month. …
The open access paper “Contribution of coffee plants to carbon sequestration in agroforestry systems of Southwestern Ethiopia“, published in The Journal of Agricultural Science, has been chosen as the latest Editorial Highlight and is freely available to download.…
Eggshell quality has been a major economic concern to egg producers as it could be reason for serious economic losses. Eggshell has different functions such as protecting against physical damage and pathogens coming from the external environment and providing nutrients necessary for embryonic development, especially calcium.
The paper “Composting from organic municipal solid waste: a sustainable tool for the environment and to improve grape quality”, published in The Journal of Agricultural Science, has been chosen as the latest Editorial Highlight.…
Okra, is an important vegetable crop worldwide. The high nutritional attributes attract customer for a preferred food that assured sound health. But the rising concern of insect incidence facilitated by environmental factor put worries to million of farmers across the globe.
The paper “Linking maize yields in Veneto Italy, to large-scale atmospheric variability, circulation regimes and weather types“, published in The Journal of Agricultural Science, has been chosen as the latest Editorial Highlight and is freely available to download for one month. …
The paper “Aerobic ammonia removal with heterotrophic nitrification and denitrification of Alcaligenes faecalis strain No.4 to mitigate nitrogenous pollution caused by piggery wastewater: a feasibility study”, published in The Journal of Agricultural Science, has been chosen as the latest Editorial Highlight and is freely available to download for one month.…
This paper evaluates the influence of heat and drought stress on the technical efficiency and economic downside risk of dairy cow farms in 22 EU countries over the period 2007-2013.
Breeders estimate genetic gains over time to assess progress made for characteristics being improved through crossing, testing and selection in the target population of environments. Knowing and understanding the genetic gain rates helps on measuring the previous work and to fine-tune the strategy for crop betterment.
The paper “Modelling the effects of stocking rate, soil type, agroclimate location climate and nitrogen input on the grass yield and forage self-sufficiency of Irish grass-based dairy production systems”, published in The Journal of Agricultural Science, has been chosen as the latest Editorial Highlight and is freely available to download for one month.…
The paper “Growth and yield estimation of banana through mathematical modelling: A systematic review”, published in The Journal of Agricultural Science, has been chosen as the latest Editorial Highlight and is freely available to download for one month. …
The use of artificial intelligence with sensing techniques for the management of insect pests and diseases in cotton
The paper “Network analysis of tail-biting in pigs – the impact of missed biting events on centrality parameters”, published in The Journal of Agricultural Science, has been chosen as the latest Editorial Highlight and is freely available to download for one month.…
Green leaves serve as the main photosynthetic structures of crop plants, containing the majority of chlorophyll, the functional traits of which directly affect photo-assimilate production and grain yield.
Sward composition and management play a major role in the quantity and quality of herbage grown on farms in temperate regions. While best practices for both livestock grazing and ensiled forage production are well documented in this regard, less is known about the optimum composition and management of swards used in frequent cutting systems.
Due to their ability to perform cation exchange, zeolite applications were found in various industries, such as in the pharmaceutical industry, petrochemical industry.
Marine biotechnology, or blue biotechnology, harnesses the diversity of marine environments and organisms that generally have no equivalent on land. Despite the knowledge of many marine ecosystems, there are still many untapped resources that could serve as a basis for the development of new products and new processes.
When discussing how we should design our future-food systems we need to consider feed-food competition occurring in our livestock systems. Feed-food competition occurs when arable land, which could be used to produce human edible food from crops, is instead used to produce feed for livestock.
Why would farmers in the Global North take time to work on plant breeding when they are busy farming with access to markets and can buy seed of modern varieties in catalogs? The authors of the paper, “Exploring the emergence of participatory plant breeding in countries of the global North - a review”, set out to answer that question and discovered much more.
The gap between potential and actual soybean yield achieved by farmers in the Southern Africa region is high due to limited investments in inputs, poor agronomic management practices and lack of quality seeds for improved varieties.
Permanent grasslands in the Alpine region in Austria vary from intensively managed plant communities, with few numbers of species and up to six cuts per year, to species-rich communities that are used extensively, with local variations depending on soil type and drainage.
The paper "Endozoochorous seed dispersal of glyphosate-resistant Lolium multiflorum by cattle", published in The Journal of Agricultural Science, has been chosen as the latest Editorial Highlight and is free for one month.
Soil acidity and poor nutrient use efficiency are major limiting factors effecting many soils. Lime is applied to counteract soil acidity and improve nutrient availability and, in turn, improve agricultural output and productivity.
The paper “Greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural cultivated soils using animal waste-based digestates for crop fertilization“, published in The Journal of Agricultural Science, has been chosen as the latest Editorial Highlight.…
The paper “Grand challenges for the 21st century: what crop models can and can’t (yet) do“, published in The Journal of Agricultural Science, has been chosen as the latest Editorial Highlight.…
The paper “Low-tillering winter wheat cultivars are more adaptable to late sowing“, published in the Journal of Agricultural Science, has been chosen as the latest Editorial Highlight.…
The paper ‘Physico-chemical and sensory interactions of arabica coffee genotypes in different water regimes, published in the Journal of Agricultural Science, has been chosen as the latest Editorial Highlight.…
The paper ‘Nitrogen fertilizer value of animal slurries with different proportions of liquid and solid fractions: A 3-year study under field conditions, published in the Journal of Agricultural Science, has been chosen as the latest Editorial Highlight.…
The paper ‘Effects of different barley grain preservation techniques on intake, growth and carcase traits of finishing dairy bulls fed grass silage-based rations, published in the Journal of Agricultural Science, has been chosen as the latest Editorial Highlight.…
The paper ‘Relative success of frost-resistant variants of Avena fatua: a field experiment, published in the Journal of Agricultural Science, has been chosen as the latest Editorial Highlight.…
The paper ‘Soil quality indicators as influenced by 5-year diversified and monoculture cropping systems, published in the Journal of Agricultural Science, has been chosen as the latest Editorial Highlight.…
For thousands of years, the crops in the farmland ecosystem have constantly provided for the various nutritional needs of human beings and at the same time they are constantly evolving to meet the needs of the new environment.…
Rice production determines food security for many countries, as it is the only major grain grown exclusively for food and provides over one fifth of the calories consumed worldwide. …
Silage – basically fermented grass – is used widely as a feed source for animals, preserving the pasture for livestock to eat later in the year when the natural pasture is not good and retaining more nutrients than turning it into hay.…
Dragon fruits are nutritious and healthy; also, in addition to the edible pulp, the coloured peels are utilized in the food and cosmetic industry.…
In sub-Saharan-Africa (SSA), maize production usually occurs under low-N environments by subsistence farmers who continuously crop maize with limited or no use of N fertilizer.…
Goat milk is thought to be more beneficial than other milk: it’s easier to digest because it contains more short-chain fatty acids, lower lactose and more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).…
The importance of functional traits to explain ecological processes in natural or artificial plant communities has become a major topic as reflected in the continuously growing trait databases (e.g.…
Rice is the most important cereal crop in Bhutan and annual production is often equated to the country’s food security. Rice is cultivated throughout Bhutan and its agro-ecology ranges from 100 m above sea level (masl) in the southern lowlands to elevations as high as 2700 masl in the north.…
Grey mould, caused by the fungus Botrytis cinerea, is one of the major diseases that affects vineyards across the globe and is the cause of an important reduction in yield.…
The utilization of microbial additives for the purpose of achieving proper fermentation and improving digestibility has generated great interest, which is evidenced by the fact that inoculants have been developed as silage additives for over 40 years.…
The article Phenology and plant functional type dominance drive CO2 exchange in seminatural grasslands in the Pyrenees is available free for a month in the Journal of Agricultural Science Grasslands play a crucial role in climate change mitigation, since they are the most widespread terrestrial habitat in the world, storing an important amount of soil carbon.…
The article Visceral organ growth patterns in Saanen goats is available free for a month in the Journal of Agricultural Science Goat body composition and nutritional requirements are affected by many factors, such as animal developmental stage and hormonal differences between sexes, among others.…
The population in Central America is rising rapidly, but staple crop production seems unable to keep up with increasing food demand.…
The article Diurnal patterns of urination and drinking by grazing ruminants: a development in a mechanistic model of a grazing ruminant, MINDY is available Open Access in the Journal of Agricultural Science Estimates of herbage and water intake with parallel measurements of ingestive, digestive and metabolic behaviours of grazing ruminants pose considerable experimental and technical difficulties.…
How long will humankind survive? Besides the fact that we have been able to eliminate ourselves with nuclear weapons for decades, even without a third world war, the challenge to take care of the resources of our planet remains; we need to use them in a way that our children and their children can have a place on Earth as well. In this blog post Andreas Losch discusses his recent review article in the International Journal of Astrobiology, The need of an ethics of planetary sustainability
This year, Mona Suleiman, who is doing her PhD at the University of Bath, was the winner of the award. The competition this year was high, but Mona’s presentation stood out for the fundamental impacts of her research that were explained in a very comprehensible way.
The English language contains a wealth of insults and terms of abuse. Personal insults attack the core and immutable aspects of a person, such as their race, ethnicity, appearance, age, or a disability.…
Even though findings from genetics and other sciences unequivocally refute biological conceptions of race, this erroneous viewpoint remains widespread among the general public.…
Some disability-related names have dropped out of usage, because they are now considered to be offensive due to their origins. Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21) is one example.…
The March article of Muses – the arts blog from BJPsych International is the first blog of the series. The blog is written by Dr Dami Ajayi, Specialty Doctor, Barnet Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and Trainee/Blog Editor, BJPsych International.…
The Paper of the Month for March is ‘Impact of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on clinical manifestations in autism spectrum disorders: an umbrella review of meta-analyses“.…
How long will humankind survive? Besides the fact that we have been able to eliminate ourselves with nuclear weapons for decades, even without a third world war, the challenge to take care of the resources of our planet remains; we need to use them in a way that our children and their children can have a place on Earth as well. In this blog post Andreas Losch discusses his recent review article in the International Journal of Astrobiology, The need of an ethics of planetary sustainability
It is an article of faith among ordinary Filipinos that American troops will die with Filipino troops defending Philippine claims to the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea (SCS).…
This is the first post in our new series: “Conversations with Authors.” For our inaugural post, we asked Dr. Vesla Weaver to meet (virtually) with Dr.…
More and more research is finding inflammation as a potential contributing factor towards to the development of various mental illnesses. A systematic review was conducted to determine the association between parasitic infection and mental illnesses in various African populations. Two parasite groups were evaluated; helminths and protozoans, and four mental illness classifications; depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, schizotypal disorders and unspecified mental illnesses.
The March article of Muses – the arts blog from BJPsych International is the first blog of the series. The blog is written by Dr Dami Ajayi, Specialty Doctor, Barnet Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and Trainee/Blog Editor, BJPsych International.…
The opportunity to showcase some of the exciting archaeological research currently underway on medieval Ethiopia in a journal as widely read as Antiquity is important.
Q&A with Editor-in-Chief of the Precision Medicine Journal, Dame Anna Dominiczak, for International day of Women and Girls in Science
Listen to @BBCRadio4's Start the Week, featuring @NineDotsPrize winner @jkkusiak, talking about her book, 'Radically Legal'. Learn how a group of ordinary people inspired the book when they reclaimed over 240,000 apartments back from corporate landlords 🔗
Start the Week - ‘Left behind’, but not forgotten - BBC Sounds
Tom Sutcliffe with Paul Collier, Joanna Kusiak and Matthew Xia.
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